Old and New

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Over the weekend I will be celebrating the festival of Thai Pongal.

Thai Pongal is a Thanks Giving festival celebrated from the 14th to the 16th January. The day before Thai Pongal (the 13th) is Bhogi. On Bhogi, people discard old, worn-out items and celebrate the new. The old things are taken at dawn and burnt in a sacrificial fire to Rudra (a Rigvedic deity), which represents the transformation of the soul. Houses are cleaned, painted and decorated to make everything look festive.

I don't have anywhere that I can build a bonfire to burn my old possessions and at the moment most of my possessions are about 200 miles away, however I did go out and buy a new shirt for work (that will be useful later on in the month - I'm looking at you 20th!).

It may seem strange, but going out to buy something particular and celebrating it as being new made the shopping experience feel very different. I usually avoid shopping for clothes, shops are always busy and I can rarely find anything that I like, but I had something particular in mind today (it had to be purple and suitable for work... like I said, you'll find out on the 20th), and finding something that fit this description, I felt very pleased to be concentrating on something new. It is also the end of my first week in a new job, so all in all I am feeling very positive about the now.


Today is also Friday 13th, which is considered very unlucky in Western Superstition. There will actually be two Friday 13ths this year. The superstition is based in Christianity (Judas being the 13th person at the meal and Jesus was killed on a Friday. Apparently (wikipedia) there is evidence of both friday and the number 13 being unlucky (I have not found this), but no evidence of the two together being unluckier. According to the Stress Management Centre and Phobia Institue in Asheville, North Carolina, around 17-21 million people in the US are affected by Friday 13th. People will avoid their daily routines, and an estimated $800 or $900 million is lost in business. In Britain (at least in the 80s and 90s) there were significantly more traffic-related instances as opposed to a random Friday.

On the other hand, in Finland, both governmental and nongovernmental organisations lef by the ministry of Social Affairs and Health promotes the National Accident Day on a Friday 13th. Those crazy Finns!

So, enjoy Bhogi, and try-not-to-die Friday 13th!

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